The Grammy nominated music producer, composer and DJ who dons a trademark Mouse Helmet on stage spiraled out of control when a fan simply asked if he sweats under the costume.

As the tide of bigotry targeting the LGBT community becomes Americas “new normal,” even the most staunch fans of Deadmau5, whose real name is Joel Thomas Zimmerman, took him to task for his reckless remarks.

The best-selling performer and stage persona who draws crowds of thousands lashed out at a fan who innocuously asked if his neck became sweaty while performing in costume.

Deadmau5 responded by implying that if the fan were getting a $40,000 paycheck, he’d bet that he would “Suck a guy off. ZERO questions asked.”

Immediately, other fans wondered why he would draw such a comparison in a negative context, as if gay sex is something of an indignity or compromise to one’s better judgment.

As his comments began to draw ire from some of his 3.7 million followers, instead of clarifying his statement, he doubled down, this time taking a shot at transgender women. “Women don’t possess penises, you’ll find out when you’re older.” He sniped.

The message he sent was glaringly obvious; Gay sex is something you’d have to be baited into for financial benefit or otherwise set traditional, acceptable sexual standards aside. Turning both barrels on Transgender women after this was pointed out to him, he unexpected spat, “How many biological women have you sucked off? There, I fixed it.”

The fact that Deadmau5 has many fans who identify as LGBT seemed irrelevant to him. Instead of apologizing, he threatened to leave twitter due to the backlash that ensued.

Of course, this provoked more abuse towards his LGBT fans from others who decided his sudden departure was their fault for being overly sensitive or lacking a sense of humor. A common tactic used against minorities to manipulate them into being silent and thereby complicit in their own degradation.

One mother took to social media after the caustic remarks.

So disappointed to find out @deadmau5 is posting transphobic statements about what genitals define a woman. But not as disappointed as my kids are going to be. Last year, we took our trans daughter to his concert in Montreal for her birthday. She's been a huge fan.💔

Only then did the performer offer up a disingenuous apology, claiming his statements were the result of a “Heated argument.” There was no heated argument. It was evident he took unnecessary exception to someone wondering if he became sweaty and leveraged that to ridiculous gay and transgender people.

Deadmau5 is just a small part of a growing problem where musicians are routinely attacking the LGBT+ community in the lyrics to their songs (Nicki Minaj, Eminem) or in live social media videos (Cardi B)broadcast to their fans, many who are young, many who have diverse gender identities and sexual orientations. The influence these artists have does remarkable harm to those fans who feel immediately alienated and ostracized by their hateful, or, at best, careless inflammatory language regarding LGBT+ individuals. It further emboldens the hatred this community is subject to already and often the consequences are far reaching, leaving those fans feeling rejected, self-loathing and isolated from the artists more embraced fan base.

It left me wondering, we have a handful, sparse as they may be, of our, proud and influential LGB artists… but where are the idols for young transgender people? Where are the artists who stand as a reflection of themselves? Someone, perhaps, I needed as a young person so that I could see that, despite my circumstances, my potential was limitless. Someone like me that I could hang posters of on my wall and play on repeat. Someone who would have me on their side, in their audience and welcome me because they were like me.

That may not have existed for me or millions of other transgender folks, but for the youth of today, they have someone, thankfully, in the form of artist Kim Petras.

The German born Petras has appeared alongside Charlie XCX and other iconic modern musicians and reviewers have dubbed her “The new princess of Pop.” On October 1st she released a themed, streamable album entitled “Turn Off The Light, Vol. 1” to much acclaim and is currently on tour with Troye Sivan.

On the eve of Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s controversial confirmation, Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley stood on the Senate Room floor at 4 in the morning and read aloud dozens of stories sent to him by women detailing their experiences with sexual assault.

The Senate Room was sparsely populated, hours before dawn, when Merkley took the podium to contest the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh who has been accused by three women of sexual harassment and assault. The Republicans, fearing they wouldn’t have enough votes to confirm the embattled Judge, agreed to a one week FBI investigation “Limited in scope and to be concluded no later than one week.” The FBI finished 3 days early, never spoke to witnesses, accusers, or even the accused. The President of the United States and his allies deliberately repressed key information, text messages and testimonies that demonstrated Kavanaugh had perjured himself under oath.

Although no other senators attended, Merkley spoke only to a small audience of interns, recorders and the Presiding Officer for two solid hours. While it may seem odd for a Senator to speak to a small audience to whom his speech would be ultimately inconsequential as none were voters, he chose to do it for the sake of official record. It wasn’t just his words that he relayed for document, but that of dozens of assault survivors who had written to him, urging him to vote against the confirmation of a judge with questionable character. Merkley was so moved by the stories, he likely felt that he would be serving women around the country a grave disservice if he did not use his position to amplify their voices, and he represented those women with incredible dignity during his two hour speech.

Merkley’s appearance in the early morning of October 5th were broadcast live on C-SPAN, and social media users watched the Oregonian become visibly emotional as he delivered moving, unsettling accounts from victims, many telling their story for the first time.

Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley, reading their stories out loud (can you imagine?) to an empty room. These stories were heard, if only by him, and entered into the official Senate record. Thank you, kind sir. @SenJeffMerkley #class #presidential #hope

Thank you @SenJeffMerkley for speaking truth into the record. Even though they did not have ears to hear, history will show the revolution we waged these weeks. And how survivors hastened the Reckoning together.

Who did the overnight shift, holding the Senate floor for hour after hour in a vigil of opposition to #BrettKavanaugh? @JeffMerkley. He made the case against Kavanaugh. Then he read testimony of sexual assault survivors into the record. An epic stand for truth and decency!

Senator Merkley may have only had the opportunity to speak to America’s night owls and early birds, but his speech remains one of the most powerful ever given on behalf of women from a government official.

However, this isn’t the first time Merkley has used his platform to draw attention to- or publicly challenge social injustices that plague America’s most vulnerable communities.

After Republicans blocked former President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland claiming it was inappropriate for him to do so during an election year, they left the seat vacant for 293 days until they gained the house majority. After the election, they immediately fast-tracked the confirmation of their own heavily conservative nominee, Neil Gorsuch. Even by those standards, the confirmation of Kavanaugh was further expedited in an effort to place him on the highest court in the Nation just 30 days before Midterm elections.

So much for following their own rules of delaying a Supreme Court appointee during an election year.

It was because of that gross hypocrisy that Merkley spoke on the record to protest such corrupt, partisan behavior in politics for a marathon 15 hours.

Merkley was also one of the only US Senators who, in early 2018 in the wake of the Trump administration’s Zero Tolerance Immigration policy that allowed ICE agents to detain those fleeing dangerous countries at the border and separate children from their families in concentration camp-like conditions. Due to administrative negligence, US immigration somehow lost over 1,000 children in the system. He was turned away at the gate of one such camp and then had local authorities called on him for trespassing.

Merkley’s efforts as a Senator serving the American people often reach beyond the gilded walls of Senate. Time and time again he shown himself to be invested in causes that effect all of our lives. Unlike his colleagues who reign from towers far above the rest of us, Merkley serves on the ground, going above the call of duty to fight for justice and enforce equality in a contentious era where it is severely lacking.

Merkley is a rare specimen in Senate- he recognizes that his time belongs to those who provided him such a platform and despite so much ridicule perpetrated by Republicans both in the Senate and the public, he stands out as a Man that history will remember as a Hero.

Thrust into the National spotlight by the media, the victim of sexual assault told her story before a primarily male Senate Judicial Committee and the entire world, only to be doubted, her life threatened and mocked by the President of the United States.

Over the last two years, it remains without question that the public humiliation of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford is perhaps the most disturbing experience suffered by an individual since Republican took control of government.

When Blasey caught wind that Brett Kavanaugh, her old high school classmate, had made the shortlist of Donald Trump’s potential Supreme Court Nominees, her heart climbed into her throat. She knew that name, and remembered him well. 30 years prior, during a gathering of friends at a suburban Baltimore home, Kavanaugh, along with his friend, Mark Judge, allegedly attempted to rape her in an upstairs bedroom. She knew this was not an individual who should be sitting in a seat on the highest court in the country. In an effort to provide the information she possessed regarding his past behavior and her experience, she reached out to several local leaders, including Senator Diane Feinstein. Her goal was not to disrupt the life of the Man she accused, but to inform the opinion of those who would be determining the quality of his character o they would have a more expansive insight into his history and behavior which saw her become an unwitting victim.

Her anonymity was important to her. She wasn’t interested in drawing attention to herself. The 51 year old professor of psychology has a family to protect and a job at a University where her focus must remain on her students. She wasn’t interested in upending her life, nor in destroying Kavanaughs. In her own words, and possessing the awareness that he would likely be responsible for deciding cases in involving sexual assault survivors or legislation that required neutrality in determining the future of women’s rights, she said “I’m terrified, but I felt it was my civil duty to be here.”

Here, being before a scrutinizing committee comprised mostly of older sneering men who resented the fact that they had to suffer the inconvenience she presented. She never wanted to take on the task of testifying before the Judiciary Committee, but much to her chagrin, an as yet unidentified individual leaked her name to the mainstream media. Immediately she was being harassed at home, at work in the presence of her students, and her family found themselves in the middle of a growing firestorm of unsolicited attention. She left her home and went into hiding to avoid the onslaught of death threats and relentless pursuits by the press for comment. Hoping to spare her family potentially dangerous exposure, she left them behind when she realized that her privacy had been compromised and, consequentially, presented very real dangers.

Only after serious consideration did she agree to appear before Senate amidst Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings. While she admitted she had nothing to hide, the invasive attention frightened her, but her conscience would not allow her to remain silent. At great risk to her security and long term ability to thrive in a hostile political climate she gave one of the most poised, powerful statements ever given on the senate floor regarding a Supreme Court Nominee since Anita Hill 27 years earlier. She was the first to do it in the post #MeToo era.

She confessed to her closest friends that her greatest fear was subjecting herself to intense ridicule, hatred and that decision ultimate be for nothing.

She was right.

Republicans of the committee elected not to participate in questioning Dr. Ford, instead enlisting an outside prosecutor to ask questions on their behalf. Ford answered every question with conviction and, even when trembling with emotion, detailed the alleged attack with alarming detail. For three hours she sat before the world and recounted one of the most painful experiences a woman can face- sexual assault.

And the it was Kavanaugh’s turn. He came in with his lips puckered, his brow furrowed and attacked those who questioned him on details of Dr. Ford’s story. He scowled at the democratic senators who sought clarity and instead of answering most questions, aggressively fired back with inflammatory questions of his own before claiming the assault allegations- which are now coming from 2 other women besides Dr. Ford- as a political it job motivated by the Clintons and promising those who on the Democratic side of the room; “What goes around comes around.” Indeed, he went into what can only be defined as an epic meltdown, one quite unbecoming of a Supreme Court Judge.

Most unusual about the trial was the sudden re-entry of the Committee Republicans who had abandoned the hearing during Dr. Ford’s testimony. Suddenly, they took their seats and began attacking their Democratic colleagues in defense of Kavanaugh, despite his combative demeanor. Senator Lindsay Graham was reduced to episodes of shouting at the Senators on the other side of the aisle claiming “A good man is being ruined!”

But, he wasn’t ruined. The Republicans who supported Kavanaugh remained unwavering in their stance, in spite of Dr. Ford’s testimony just moments before demonstrating that her appearance was inconsequential to their decision to confirm the nominee as quickly as possible.

And they did.

On Friday, every Republican with the exception of Lisa Murkowski, a female senator from Alaska, will vote “Yes” to give Kavanaugh a lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court.

Had Dr. Ford know that her personal sacrifice would not even be given moderate consideration by the men wielding power in Senate, she likely would have stayed silent.

This is, of course, why most women are too afraid to tell their stories. The #MeToo movement and it’s necessity in our male dominated culture was put on full display before a fixated global audience. We watched and learned exactly why #MeToo is a vital instrument of change… with a very long way to go.

As Dr. Ford attempts to resume a normal life after being served no form of justice- not even the courtesy of a thorough FBI investigation to either corroborate her testimony or exonerate Kavanaugh from the accusations leveled against him by both Ford and two women. Instead, they ignored individuals who attempted to contact them insisting they possessed evidence proving Kavanaugh lied under oath multiple times. They never bothered speaking to the accusers or the accused. They never interviewed witnesses, nor did they subject Kavanaugh to a polygraph test as Dr. Ford willingly took and passed.

It was evident that there was never any intention of a result other than the confirmation of Kavanaugh, regardless of Dr. Ford’s terstimony or the other accusers who had come forward, Deborah Ramirez and Julie Swetnick. Neither were contacted by the FBI in pursuit of the information available. Commitee Leader Chuck Grassey gave the FBI one week to complete the investigation… which was submitted and deemed complete three days before the deadline. That’s right. It took them 4 days to do a “Thorough Investigation.” Today, that investigation has left more questions than answers, with most calling it a cover-up rather than a genuine inquiry into the accounts of the alleged victims. Some senators agree.

When I reviewed the FBI #Kavanaugh report, I saw a stack of leads from the tip line – a foot & a half tall. There undoubtedly were tips worth pursuing. But we’ll never know. Trump & the Senate Republicans wouldn’t allow the FBI to follow up. This is nothing short of a cover-up.

That theory is not entirely unreasonable. Despite President Trump have 2 other qualified Judges on his short list, Judge Kavanaugh as the only one who said publicly that he would never prosecute as sitting president… and given the unending revelations coming out each day that implicate the President in illegal activities, it makes sense he would insist on placing his own judge on the court knowing he would not hold him accountable for any criminal conduct- even if only to exact his previously implied revenge against democrats who challenged his nomination.

We would be negligent to allow our ever shifting attention during these chaotic times fall away from Dr. Ford. To many American women, she is a hero. To some she is a martyr, unjustly persecuted for believing she owed it to her country to testify, even at unfathomable consequence.

To Dr. Ford, we own an enormous debt of gratitude… and an apology. History will remember her as another woman that our male-driven government has failed in pursuit of power.

History will also write her name indelibly in its pages as a woman who mobilized millions of others, and set them free from shackles of shame as they tell their own stories in her wake.

We Have To Talk About Karen White Who Sexually Assaulted Four Women In Prison And Identifies As Trans

If we don’t discuss this, those who wish to use the case of Karen White to demonize the entirety of the Transgender community, will.

It has long been preached that accepting transgender women into female places poses a risk to women and young girls. Preachers, politicians and conservative talk-radio hosts alike have all issued ominous warnings to their audiences. They leverage the ignorance of their fans against transgender people, shaping an ill-informed opinion based entirely on rhetoric and lies. We’ve dealt with this, as trans people, in every public space from bathrooms and locker rooms to sporting events and prom titles. In any event, we’ve had the benefit of facts on our side. Historically, there has never been an incident of a Transgender woman committing a violent sexual crime against another woman in a bathroom, a locker room or over not being allowed to be named Prom Queen.

The reality is, most of us are too preoccupied with our fear of retribution and violence, ourselves, to do much more than speak openly against the bigoted hyperbole… Has the bathroom issues on senate floors made it easier for you to walk into one in a restaurant without the niggling of anxiety behind the wall of your chest? Have you found yourself avoiding the use of public, gender specific spaces to avoid the potential of confrontation or humiliation? Sadly, we’ve been struggling with this long before it became a topical issue.

The case of Karen White coming out of the United Kingdom, which, unlike the USA, extends more rights and compassion to transgender people, is extremely disturbing but will be relevant to all of us who exist on the Trans spectrum. It will be used against us. It will be developed into a narrative of our collective characters and used to persecute us by proxy.

Karen White, 52, sexually attacked four women while incarcerated in an women’s detention facility. Prior to her detention, she informed the administrators that she identified as transgender, which resulted in her placement in the gender specific facility. She also claimed that she was not sexually attracted to women and did not possess the ability to achieve arousal. She lied.

Yet, this wasn’t Karen’s first attack. While going by the name Stephen Wood back in 2003, she was charged with another violent rape of which she plead guilty. Worse, just two years prior, she was jailed for sexually assaulting a minor. Her latest brutal attacks that landed her in prison happened in 2016, where again she plead guilty to two counts of rape involving another woman. Karen White was a known serial rapist.

It was only after the assaults became public record that people who knew Karen prior to her incarceration- including a female ex-lover- informed authorities that Karen only started identifying as a woman in 2014 despite never having received an official assessment or diagnosis by a qualified physician to confirm gender dysphoria. She had worked previously as a Drag performer, but her friends stated that she did not indicate, at any point, that she was transgender.

Karen White is most likely not Transgender at all, but a cross dressing cis-gender male who abused the system to gain access to a women’s prison where she could continue the long established pattern of predatory behavior. White deceived the court system, playing on their legal loopholes to achieve this and the system took everything she said at face value… despite her violent history toward women.

This is gross negligence by the justice system who never asked for supporting documentation, clinical records nor considered her past as a threat to women and children. This is a hard statement for me to make, because in America, we have thousands of transgender women guilty of non-violent crimes sitting in male prisons and being subjected to rape, discrimination, harassment and violence every single day by cis male inmates. Trans women in male prisons live in a state of perpetual fear for their lives. Some have even killed themselves to escape the torture. Indeed, in American, the Bureau of Prisons rolled back Obama era policies that protected transgender women in custody. Now, transgender people are assigned to prisons based solely on the identified state of their genitals. This is in spite of some transgender women, like me, being medically incapable of surgically transitioning due to the threat to my health. The attempt to surgically or even chemically transition would almost certainly end in death due to a genetic defect that predisposes me to heart attacks and strokes as a result of clotting- a risk that would only be elevated by hormone replacement therapies.

The case of Karen White is a devastating blow to all transgender women who might one day stand before a Judge because her actions have handed religious zealots, radical feminists and political conservatives a stick to beat us with. We already suffer incarceration in disproportionate numbers.

As a consequence of this case, the onus of responsibility isn’t being laid at the feet of those who executed poor decision making, but instead upon the entire transgender community. Recently, journalist Janice Turner of The Times referred to transgender women in female prisons as “Foxes in Hen Houses.” She did not condemn Karen White as an individual, but used Karen White to launch an attack on transgender people in the legal system. We’re being painted with the same brush as Karen White as she is being paraded about as an example of what we- me and people like me, are capable of- and asserting to others that we all have the same intent; To harm women and young girls. Turner lashed out against the legal system for making women vulnerable to us, labeling us predators.

Turner generated a lot of support, feeling her anti-trans stance is now legitimized- even Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling supported the article on twitter, much to the dismay of her transgender fans- who are not rapists. Actually, the abuse of transgender women stand only to escalate as a result of Karen White’s brutal crimes against women.

Karen White should pay the consequences for her crimes, all of which have left innocent women and children permanently scarred for the rest of their lives. We should not minimize White’s offenses, but we must ask that blame be placed where it belongs- With Karen White and the system that allowed a documented threat into an environment where she could harm more women. The blame should not be directed toward the transgender community.

Still, Women’s rights advocates and anti-trans Parliament members are suggesting an overhaul of the system which could see, just as we do in America, trans women placed in male prisons once again, despite their crimes or the severity of them. Parliament may now put the lives of thousands of transgender inmates at risk because of the actions of one- who wasn’t likely transgender at all.